Wagering games such as baccarat, blackjack, roulette, craps, sic-bo, and various poker-based table games, among many others, are popular games offered in casinos and other similar establishments. These games are generally administered by human dealers and are played on physical gaming tables having a dealer surface, felt or similar table top layouts, cards, dice, chips and the like, or they can be played on electronic gaming machines where the dealer, playing cards, chips or other gaming elements may be virtual.
While many formats for these table games involve live cash type games against the house or other players, where players can come or go at any time as they please, there are also many types of tournament style formats as well. As is generally well known, a casino game type tournament can involve multiple players registering for the tournament, paying a registration fee or buy-in amount, playing numerous hands or plays of the particular table game or games against each other, accumulating a tournament score or chips total over those games, and then winning a cash amount and/or other prize for placing well in the tournament.
As a particular example, many baccarat tournaments are of the buy-in type. Players pay an entry fee and register to compete for the collected pool of money or prizes, less the costs of the casino or other host establishment running the tourney. The buy-ins can entitle the players to a number of chips, and all players typically start with the same number of chips. The players then compete over a given number of deals or hands, or alternatively over a set period of time, either of which constitutes a tournament round. The player (or players) with the highest number of chips or balance at the end of the round is the winner(s). It is not necessary that the winner have more chips or balance than he or she started with. He or she merely has to have more chips or balance than the other players. Hence, in baccarat tournaments a player can lose all hands over a given later round and yet still win the tournament. Many tournaments are of the progressive type. The first round is played over many tables, and the winner or winner at each table move(s) on to the next round. This procedure typically continues till the final round, the winner of which is the winner of the whole tournament.
Although baccarat is a game of luck, baccarat tournament strategy is more complex. In fact, the aim for baccarat and many other table game tournaments is to manage your bankroll. Each player has to play his or her best against the bank, but at the same time he or she has to keep track of the chip position of other players. There are different strategies that are prevalent in the baccarat tournament circuit, which strategies can also apply to other table game type tournaments.
One strategy starts with minimal wagering. Towards the end of the round the player assesses the difference between himself or herself and the leader. He or she then uses the conserved bankroll to place large wagers and overtake the leader. The rationale is that once the target is known it is then easier to chart the course. Another strategy is based on the assumption that it is next to impossible to catch up. This strategy advocates aggressive wagering early on so that a lead is immediately established. Thereafter, a period of minimal betting follows till a competitor catches up. The player may again have to resort to aggressive betting to keep the competitor(s) at bay. Many players believe that luck comes in streaks. So yet another strategy is to place large wagers during a winning streak and small wagers during losing streaks. Because of the various options available to players, both number of hands and time based tournaments are very popular.
Unfortunately, there are several inherent restrictions or limitations to many forms to table game tournaments. For one thing, such tournaments often require players to be present and playing at exact dates and times. This can often prove to be inconvenient to many players who would otherwise be interested in playing in a particular tournament but cannot make the exact date and time given. As another limitation, it is often difficult to obtain crucial information about the tournament in real time, which information would be useful to many savvy players. For example, the exact chip stack or score of other players would often be useful data to a shrewd tournament player, but such information can be hard to determine visually at times. While often legal, it can be time consuming and annoying for a player to request a chip count or score of his or her fellow tournament competitors. Furthermore, such requests can sometimes be disallowed or impractical when there are many tables that are participating in the same table game tournament.
In addition to the foregoing concerns, it is often the case that new or inexperienced players may shy away from table game tournaments due to shyness, unfamiliarity, or a reluctance to risk a buy in or other monetary value or credit on a game or tournament that can be unfamiliar and intimidating. Typically there is no way for new players to assess whether a particular table game, a tournament for same, a format therefor, or other factors might be readily ascertained or learned, such that actual participation by a new and prospective player might be daunting. As such, the ability to generate more players and play in table game tournaments can be hindered by an inability to “learn” to play in such tournaments through any method but “trial by fire” where the player risks money just to learn.
While table game tournaments have worked well in practice over many years, there is always a desire improve the attractiveness and functionality of such tournaments and the gaming systems that support them. What is desired then are improved gaming terminals and gaming table systems, particularly with respect to those having the ability to improve the functionality and features for tournament style play on such terminals, tables and systems.